The killer B’s

Add comment January 5th, 2009

Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris and Bobby Rush are distracting everyone from what Illinois needs to do to bounce back economically. So much focus has been put on Blagojevich’s legal troubles that for all we can see, no one is paying much attention to how bad things are for the hardworking people of Illinois.

Illinois’ unemployment rate is higher than the national average, its roads are in terrible shape and we still have that huge pension mess.Illinois needs to get beyond Blago quickly or Illinoisans will find it more difficult to maintain their standards of living.

Al Franken’s Rockford connection

Add comment January 5th, 2009

Not really, but Assistant Sports Editor Matt Trowbridge offers this tidbit. The last time a Minnesota election was as close as Franken’s was in 1986.  Former state Sen. Collin Peterson, now a Democratic U.S. congressman, lost a U.S. House election to Republican Rep. Arlan Stangeland by 121 votes.

That’s Trowbridge’s Uncle Arlan.

“He ran against that guy three times, finally losing the third time,”Trowbridge said. “I think Uncle Arlan served 14 years in the House. I got to visit him in his office when I was a loaner at USA Today.”